Fragments

December 24th, PW (Post-War)

Light crests the silvery peaks of a minor fragment as the new day dawns. The wind carries the foreboding scent of burning sand. The warmth surrounding me almost distracts from war on the horizon. The howls and gunfire seems to shake me even from my fragment half a mile away. The clouds capture the light of the rising sun promising the sweet release of toxic rain for those yet to dissipate. The soft tapping of rain echoes in my mask as my speakers adjust.

The soldiers on the horizon disappear in a swirl of light and dust. To be reborn in the days to follow. As the last of them fall I slide my left hand to the dial at my side. In an upward swipe of my fingers I’m thrown from the surface of the fragment I stood on. Swiping my thumb to the right I dodge a small asteroid only to be struck by another and pushed away from the main cluster. Quickly adjusting I spin to get my bearings before another scavenger can get to the fragment first.

Gazing out, my breath catches. The sight of earth from a distance still instills awe after all of these years. The shattered planet always makes me wonder what was so important they had to rend the earth from itself. It makes me wonder what it looked like before the war, before man lost direction. But there are more pressing concerns. The fragment sits silently undisturbed. Reaching back to my Grav-belt and pulling back I hurdle toward the jagged chunk of land once aflush with prosperity.

My boots thump softly as I land on the sandy fragment. The rain warps around my suit as I approach the battlefield. Walking up, the field of armor and uniforms brings to mind only the generous portions of food my work today will afford me. Crouching down I begin snatching pieces of metal, leather and anything else that appears to be of some value. Suddenly in the corner of my vision a white clad figure touches down on a blue chest plate.

A glance in his direction and we have an understanding. There need not be further bloodshed, today anyway. A warm reflection drags my attention away as anticipation and dread begin to fill my mind. I tug the soft thread loose. The sand drifts from the surface as the crest becomes visible. I dart my vision to the other scavenger to find him staring stoically and statuesque among the carnage. The air feels still as we wait for the other to move.

My options feel limited: I can leave the crest, offer to split it, or fight and attempt to claim it as my own. Hunger almost as emphasis gnaws at me. The clouds pass and the rain subsides and we stand still as the distant peaks for what feels like an eternity. A strong wind blows ripping the crest from my hand and we reach for our backs. He and I draw our weapons and the battle begins.

I dive to my right and fire at him. He sidesteps and fires his rifle. My gun explodes in my hands as pulses throw me behind a large rock. My mind races as I try to think of a way to survive. Brushing my hand on my Grav-belt I get an idea. The quake in my hands fades as I stand.

As my head peacocks over the rock I hear a pulse explode behind me. Swiping my hand to the left I fly from behind the boulder and into the open. Shots pulsate and narrowly miss as I wait for an opening. A forward movement of my thumb throws me midair and one of the pulses strikes my shoulder. I feel my arm rip at the tendons in a tempest of pain. I quickly refocus and swipe my hand backward which pushes me into the man.

We slam into the ground and he pushes me off. I begin to scramble to my feet as his knee comes up. Blocking with my good arm I’m pushed from my knees to my back. My hand grazes something hard and I immediately swing it at him as he pounces at me. He grabs his gun from my hand and places a knee on my chest. As I struggle to get up he charges the next shot. Quickly I kick his wrist and he drops the gun. Catching the gun in my hand I fire one shot and he disappears in a blur of light of dust.

Hopefully he’s reached his rebirth limit. It doesn't surprise me anymore, but it’s still a shame that the scavengers code is so meaningless. I scrape myself from the sand and walk to the crest. In a fluid motion I flick it up and catch it in my bag. With a twist of my good hand and a jump I throw myself toward the earthen nexus. As the asteroids in my way clear, the nexus comes into view.

Crimson light peaks from behind plates of osmium and thermal capacitors. Almost as if the earth were whole. I feel the warmth ever from here. My feet slam hard on metal as the powerful gravity grips me. The city before me seems to spread toward infinity. People live, work, and converse harmoniously. The lights below me begin to flicker to me and a stand rises. The screen blinks asking where I’d like to go. To which I type in the coordinates of the trading hub. The stand sinks into the ground and a path forms before me.

The path leads to a small building and the door opens for me. Stands before me are full of people. The room is abuzz with the sound of bartering and trading. I take a place at a large stand and wait for a particularly loud customer to storm off angrily. The small woman clears her composure and gazes at me.

“And what do you have for me today? It better be better than last time or I’m not buying” She asks

“I think you’ll like it Astrid, Took a bit to get.” I say gesturing at my arm.

I slide the bag from my back and it spills out onto the table. Astrid looks carefully at the bundled piece of yellow reflective cloth. As she unrolls the cloth her eyes first widen then fill with despair. She gazes at me with a look of absolute pity. She reaches under the counter and grabs another bundle of cloth. She uncovers the bottom revealing the butt of a gun. With a quick squeeze of the trigger a dart knocks me unconscious.

A glimpse of light glances off the metal of my cuffs waking me. I sit up and survey the room. The room is empty and white. A lamp stands in each corner in front of me. A voice jars me from my thoughts.

“Clover Airs, twenty-six, two siblings…” A pause tells me exactly what he sees “I-I’m sorry, ONE sibling. No other family, occupation scavenger. And now a thief and an instigator.”

I spin quickly, throwing my legs over the bed I woke on and rise to my feet. The man is thin and tall. His black suit fails to draw attention from his cool white hair. Pink eyes stare from behind small glasses. He’s nearing the end of his life, almost out of revivals. A moment of pity found me before my own situation rushed back to my mind.

“I haven't STOLEN from or RESET anyone. I don’t know what’s going on but you’ve got the wrong girl. Now let me out before I really reset you and I really am an instigator.”

The man looks at me, completely unfazed, and rises to his feet. He walks at me and makes intense eye contact. I brace myself to be reset. But just as I expect he’ll grab me I hear his heavy footfalls tap past me. The door behind me creaks open on rusted hinges and a second, smaller man walks in. I stare at the man, resolute that I’d make him let me out.

“Hello Clover, It’s my understanding that you’d like to contest your charges. Well we would be more than happy to let you go now if you could just tell us where the footage of you retrieving the crest can be traced.”

I hesitate, recalling the fragment and timing reminds me I have no idea how long I was unconscious.

“Fragment L, twenty two hundred hours. There was a battle I scavenged from there. You should see some lunatic in white attack me. But I didn't take out some noble. I’m just tryna take care of business, the crest was there so I thought I could sell it.”

The man places his hand out to his right and a stand reaches to meet it. He taps momentarily and the footage comes up. The battle unfolds fast forwarded on the screen. As he opens his mouth to comment, almost as punctuation, I land on the fragment and the feed cuts. The man gazes at me in disbelief.

“Well it would appear that we misjudged you ma’am, I’ll get your paperwork started. In the meantime I’d like to extend the apologies of the Cain family. As far as the crest goes we are prepared to give a payment of two hundred units. Would that be acceptable ma'am?”

“Honestly after all of this, being DETAINED, I should get way more. But I guess I’ll take what I can get. As far as the Cain family goes, I don’t accept apologies from people I can’t see. So you can give that to somebody else.”

A voice echoes from the hallway behind him.

“I can respect that, so please allow me to personally extend my apologies. My name is Isadore Cain, and as far as the reward goes I can understand the inconvenience and will have it doubled. Additionally I’d like to thank you for taking this to a recognized seller rather than complicating it with an unofficial seller.”

The woman extended her hand and smiled warmly at me. I shook her hand in awe of her elegance.

“Thank you ma’am, I always thought the nobility was rather greedy and cruel. Not that I dislike nobility, I just never thought there’d be a noble like you.”

“Well, we are a dying breed, everybody now thinks that they deserve what they were born with. You speak quite well for someone from the outer fragments. And I saw your video. You’re quite skilled, even with one arm. In light of that I’d like to offer you a job as additional compensation.”

“Where is it? I don’t have a ship so I can’t scavenge long distances.”

You seem to misunderstand the nature of this job. I’d like to hire you as security. I’m throwing a gala of sorts and I would like for you to attend as my bodyguard. The pay would be generous. And you would maintain your crest retrieval reward. I’d just be more comfortable if someone with your skill was guarding my brother and I.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes my brother the duke, the crest you retrieved is his, simply put being revived will leave him vulnerable. Unfortunately this event is one that cannot be postponed. So, will you be accepting the job tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely, but I’ll need to see my sister before the event, to make sure she’s eating. She tends to save some of her food for me. I’m not quite sure I can make it back to the inner earth in time.”

“Very well, there shall be a vessel for you. I’ll write it off as a planning expense. Will that be all?”

I nod and she leaves with a rushed bow. I gaze at the banner above the door. The heart locket on the crest brings with it an air of foreboding excitement.